As easyJet’s network has grown, other airlines, especially long-haul carriers, have begun to show interest in partnering with them to provide their customers with access to onward connections from their destinations. This allows easyJet, in turn, to cater to a market they didn’t have access to before without the additional cost and complexity of a long-haul operation.
The Challenge
easyJet is a ticketless carrier with a proprietary reservation system and thus there was no obvious technological solution for how to display and sell connections to a potential partner carrier or even sell connections across the easyJet network. Furthermore, easyJet wanted to make sure that these connections would provide a comparable yield to the point to point flights typically sold on easyJet.com, so ancillaries were a key element to include.
“We have been delighted with the appetite of partner airlines to expand Worldwide across our network thanks to our reputation for great value fares, excellent onboard service and our strong positions at Europe’s leading airports and we continue to broaden our focus to offer this unique connecting service at more of our biggest airports.” says Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet.
The solution
The technology
The first piece of the puzzle is the technology required to surface the additional O&Ds created by combining the networks of two airlines and allowing those to be booked in a single, seamless checkout process for the customer. Dohop’s technology is PSS agnostic which means that any airline can be integrated into the Dohop ecosystem, thus making Dohop the essential layer that connects the two airlines.
Protected connections
Because there are two confirmations being issued by the two airlines for a single connected journey, the key missing link is the protected connection. Normally, a customer with two separate tickets experiencing am inbound flight delay would be exposed to losing their onward connection and having to buy a new ticket. Our protected connection service is provided by our multilingual 24/7 call center, available via phone, chat, and email. In the case of a missed connection, the passenger is provided with a new ticket to their final destination.
Seamless checkout
At the point of a customer booking, each airline issues their respective confirmation emails to the customer and receives immediate payment for their part of the journey. Both bookings are through the airline’s direct channel and the airlines own the customer relationship. Dohop’s solution also allows any ancillary to be sold during the booking process along with providing full seat maps for both carriers. Dohop also provides the ability to offer a full suite of fare families and fare classes as required.
Success factors
Connecting points
Dohop’s technology can instantly enable connections over any overlapping points in the networks of two airlines looking to build a partnership. easyJet started by connecting only over Gatwick Airport but now connects at over 170 airports across Europe.
Partner airlines
Dohop can facilitate connections to any partner airline or within an airline’s own network. easyJet started by connecting their own flights and also WestJet and Norwegian and now this has been extended to a total of 17 partners.
Distribution
Distribution is key. Leveraging the airline’s existing commercial agreements with the major global metasearch players, Dohop’s pre-built connection to Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Kayak provides plenty of distribution to the connecting flights.
